When I (Annette) think of July, I don’t just think about fireworks. I think about sweet corn, fresh strawberries, juicy watermelon, and long summer days at my family’s roadside fruit and vegetable stand in southern Wisconsin.
From the time I was a little girl until we closed the stand in 1978, our summers were filled with planting, weeding, picking, stocking shelves, and helping customers. We didn’t have a garden—we had acres of vegetables. We grew sweet corn, tomatoes, onions, pumpkins, strawberries, & more. Watermelons and cantaloupes came from Iowa, fruit arrived from Michigan, potatoes from central Wisconsin, and we proudly sold local Wisconsin cheese, honey, and jams.
One of my favorite memories was every Sunday when my dad would slice open watermelons and hand out free samples to anyone who stopped by. It wasn’t about making an extra sale—it was about welcoming people and sharing something good.
By the age of nine, I was running the cash register on my own. My dad believed we should learn to add every purchase in our heads instead of relying on paper and pencil. Looking back, he wasn’t just teaching us math. He was teaching us responsibility, honesty, hard work, and the value of treating every customer well.
Looking back now, I realize my parents weren’t just raising vegetables—they were raising us. They taught us that hard work matters, honesty matters, and treating people fairly always matters. Those lessons have stayed with me throughout my life and continue to guide how we serve our clients today. Integrity isn’t something you choose only when it’s easy; it’s something you practice every day. Even now, every time I bite into a piece of sweet corn or a slice of watermelon, I’m reminded of where those values began.
0 Comments